On The Town

Bar Rescue at J.A. Murphy’s

Spike TV is in town to help out a local bar

Spike TV’s Bar Rescue—think Kitchen Nightmares, but with bars—is in town and is looking to help out J.A. Murphy’s.
I stopped by the taping last night and got a chance to talk with the
host, Jon Taffer, who has run bars and restaurants for nearly 30 years.

Taffer
himself looked straight out of a mafia movie and had a similar
tough-love mentality when he talked about the origin of the bar. “These
were two kids who started a bar in a drunken stupor right after
college,” he said of owners Keith Murphy and Joel Gallant. “They had no
idea about the business side of things.”

Taffer and the crew of Bar Rescue
have been at the Fells Point spot since Wednesday observing the bar
and, ultimately, overhauling the space. Taffer cited severe sanitation
problems in the kitchen, a former bartender leaving to start a new business, and a tendency for the bar to encourage binge drinking.

“There
is a drink called an Inception Bomb, which, just one of them, puts you
over the legal limit,” Taffer said. “We want to keep the fun here, but
take out the irresponsibility.”

When I talked to co-owner Keith
Murphy, he said that they were excited about the changes to come—things
that could include flair bartenders, a new concept, and a name change.
“I mean, to be honest, we should be doing better than we are,” he said.
“They want to keep it fun and energetic without making it a drunk
fest.”

I also asked Murphy about the hypothetical name change of
J.A. Murphy’s. “We can always change it back,” he said with a laugh.
“But I am willing to get kicked in the balls a bit if it’s good for
business.”

The big reveal is tomorrow and open to the public, so
I’m sure it will get crowded quickly. Spike TV said that the second
season of Bar Rescue is going to start in July, and the episode’s airdate will be soon after.

[Image: courtesy of J.A. Murphy’s]